


Hair

by voidfoxstarlight



Series: Aconite [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Grief/Mourning, Hair Braiding, IDK how to tag this tbh, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, michael is human in this au btw, past gerry/michael, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23107705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidfoxstarlight/pseuds/voidfoxstarlight
Summary: Some thoughts on Michael's hair and relationships.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood/Michael, Martin Blackwood/Michael/Jonathan Sims, Michael/Jonathan Sims
Series: Aconite [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642021
Comments: 2
Kudos: 78





	Hair

**Author's Note:**

> Not entirely sure where this came from? I was just thinkin about what Michael Shelley looked like before he was Michael and it kind of spiralled from there

“My hair wasn’t like this before,” Michael muses, wrapping a coil of it around his finger. “The first time I was human.”

“What was it like?”

Michael considers. “It was lighter, I think. Less yellow. And just wavy, not curly. I like the new texture better.”

“It suits you,” Martin offers with a smile that is small and awkward, but sincere.

Michael beams at him. “Yes, I think so too.”

“Was it always this long?”

“Mm. No. Michael was— _I_ was thinking about cutting it before I went to Sannikov Land, but it wasn’t even very long then. Just barely to my shoulders.”

If Martin notices his slip-up (and he must notice), he doesn’t say anything about it. What he says instead is, “If you keep growing it out, you’ll have to braid it like Rapunzel.”

Michael bunches his hair up at the back of his head in a mock ponytail, trying to imagine what it would look like braided. 

“What was your life like the first time you were human? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Michael sighs a mix of exhaustion and nostalgia. “It was like anyone else’s life, I suppose. I had a flat. A job.” He circles his finger around the rim of his mug. “A boyfriend.”

“Oh?”

Michael nods. He closes his eyes and imagines it is Gerry sitting across from him instead of Martin. Sullen, serious, unsmiling Gerry. That’s how he was around most people. But when it was just the two of them, the smiles Gerry graced him with were blinding like the sun. Michael would get overwhelmed and duck his head and smile too, and Gerry would grin wider and press a kiss to his cheek.

“Michael?”

Michael opens his eyes and ignores the irrational disappointment at seeing Martin instead of Gerry.

“You okay?” Martin asks softly.

Equally softly, Michael says, “Thank you for the tea, Martin.”

He cleans out his mug and leaves, pretending he can’t feel Martin’s gaze on his back the entire time.

* * *

Jon is braiding his hair. His fingers are steady and meticulous, twisting Michael’s hair into patterns and making him rather drowsy. Michael closes his eyes. He wonders what Gerry would have thought of his hair in a braid. Wonders if he would have let Michael braid his.

“Michael?”

Michael opens his eyes to find Jon looking at him upside down, a bemused smile on his face.

“I can’t braid your hair if you lean your head back like that.”

Michael obligingly scoots forward a bit so there’s space between his head and Jon’s knees. Jon leans forward and gives him an upside down peck on the lips. Michael, in turn, leans forward to kiss Martin, being careful not to pull his unfinished braid out of Jon’s fingers.

They’ve got a name for these kisses, now. Waterfall kisses. Jon on the couch, Michael sat criss-cross on the floor in front of him, and Martin with his head in Michael’s lap. Jon starts the kiss and it trickles down the “waterfall.” Usually they save it for when Jon finishes braiding his hair, but sometimes, one of them drifts away in their own thoughts in the middle of the braiding, and it helps ground them.

Gerry never got to braid Michael’s hair. He never will. Michael will never stop missing him, but he’s stoped drowning in the memories they shared. He’s got Martin and Jon to thank for that, in part. They’ll never replace Gerry, and Michael’s made his peace with that, but he doesn’t need them to replace Gerry. He just needs them to be them. He fell in love with them for who they are, not for who he wishes they are.

He realises he has shut his eyes again and opens them. This time, when he sees Martin smiling gently up at him and feels Jon’s fingers against his scalp, he is not disappointed.


End file.
